Weekly Smile #WeeklySmile
As some of you may have guessed, I like music. I like a lot of different types of music. One of my favorite genres is jazz. I listen to “Real Jazz” from Sirius XM in my car. I used to play jazz trumpet. I love jazz.
April was Jazz Appreciation Month. Yep, appropriately enough that is JAM – nobody jams the way jazz musicians jam! It’s been celebrated for 15 years. And then UNESCO has been celebrating International Jazz Day on April 30 for 5 years. Even though there are events world wide for the day, there has always been one big “event” concert. For the first time in its five year history it was in the US this year. More than that, it was at the White House. (Hint, go to jazzday.com and be amazed)
One of my heroes, Herbie Hancock did a lot of behind the scenes work to set it up. A lot of big names showed up, many alumni from Miles Davis’ groups, like Chick Corea and Wayne Shorter. Aretha Franklin was there as was Esperanza Spalding. And so many others, like Sting and Pat Metheny.
i watched the video of the event. Twice. It was a fantastic concert. Even if you are not a Jazz lover, you should watch it. If you are American, you need to watch it, since jazz so epitomizes America and has been one of our greatest exports. (Rock has deep roots in the blues and jazz, so if you include rock, almost all contemporary music around the world has been influenced by jazz).
I want to share one moment from the concert, but a moment repeated several times. A great musician who is known to be a little egotistical, listens to another player doing a solo and watches in awe. They all seemed to be having the time of their lives. Huge smiles just for being there, but also in appreciation of their fellow musicians. They were all jamming, getting into the music.
I couldn’t sit still listening. The mood was infectious. And I couldn’t stop smiling.
I’m still smiling.
So that’s what I smiled about this week: bringing America’s music home to the White House.
What did you smile about this week?
If you haven’t seen it, here is a little background to The Weekly Smile as well as some quick guidelines.
So, what made you smile this week? Write about it and post on the link-up (or click the little blue frog below). While you’re there, read what everyone else is smiling about! And come back to it later, if last week is any indication new smiles will be added daily!
Trent's World (the Blog) 
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what a great smile Trent!
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Thanks, it was a great concert and a great smile!
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The thought of you playing jazz trumpet made me smile!.
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Thanks, I hope in a good way ;) I haven’t played my trumpet in a few years since. I need to dust it off sometime…
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Definitely a good way!
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I didn’t see the graphic until after I replied. Both of them are pretty good, and yep, I’m sure I look just like that, hat and all ;)
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I really enjoy jazz. Of course, there are different types of jazz but I think that I love them all, to varying degrees. I love the jazz that makes me want to move and I love the deep, soul-searching jazz that makes me think and sometimes touches me so deeply that I cry. I love it all.
My favorite play list to read to is one I made up that I called “Harry Bosch Music” after the hero of the Michael Connelly novels. It includes Art Pepper, Clifford Brown, Billy Strayhorn, Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, Cannonball Adderley, Miles Davis, Coltrane, and others.
I have also attended concerts by the Preservation Jazz Hall Band twice! Yup. I really like different types of jazz.
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It does sound like you like many different types. I have a pretty long list too. Everything from the very earliest to the latest, though late 50s and early to mid 60s era is my favorite. OK, 2nd favorite since I like pretty much anything Duke Ellington did.
If you haven’t looked at the video from Jazz Day yet, you should check it out. It was a great concert and featured styles that ran the full gamut of what’s out there today.
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Hummm (thoughtful) I know nothing about jazz except Louis Armstrong, Billie Holliday, Miles Davis, Ella Fitzgerald. I do not whetheer this qualifies me to be a jazz lover but they defintely make me smile (and are very helpful when I hve to clean the house as they keep me moving around!). :)
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If you voluntarily listen to it then I’d call you a jazz lover ;) And all of the people you mentioned were great musicians, though it is funny you brought up two trumpet players with extremely different styles and two female vocalists with extremely different styles!
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Louis Armstrong came from Father who loved to listen to an old vinyl LP.
Miles Davis came with a solo that was used to announce a TV programme, and I think I heard the expression “the blue note” for the first time in connection with him. Love this expression.
Father again listened to Ella Fitzegerald and I discovered Billie Holliday per chance by listening to a classical music channel on the radio.
There is a very well known jazz festival in France during the summer months (August, I think) in the wake of other classical music and opera festivals. It is called “Jazz in Marciac” and is well covered by various radio channels, among which the public lassical music channel. This is how I come to learn about jazz.
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There are a handful of very big jazz festivals in France and a handful of great jazz musicians who came from your country. My favorite is Jean Luc Ponty, a violinist. He became well known playing with Frank Zappa and then released a bunch of fusion/bordering on New Age recordings, though he also has played some straight up, pure jazz.
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I love jazz, I always wanted to learn the saxophone. I listen to it all the time in my workshop, it makes me happy it gives me the “swing.”
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Jazz is great, isn’t it? It often makes me smile, but this concert did more than most!
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